VIrginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin has offered recommendations to amend a bill that would reduce the statute of limitations on medical debt to three years while also expanding the definition of medical debt and the types of facilities that are subject to the law.
ACA International first reported the news of the governor’s actions.
Gov. Youngkin made the couple of small tweaks to the bill and sent it back to the legislature for its consideration.
The two suggestions made by the governor were:
- Changing the window for the statute of limitations to three years from the due date applicable to the first invoice for a health care service to the final invoice for a health care service, and
- Adding a provision, “In the event of breach of a payment plan, an action is barred if not commenced within three years from the date of breach by the debtor.”
The bill passed in the House of Representatives by a vote of 49 to 46 and then the Senate passed an amended version by a vote of 26 to 14. The amended version went back to the House where it passed again, this time by a vote of 51 to 46. It then went to Gov. Youngkin for his signature or veto and he instead chose to make the suggested amendments.
The legislature is expected to be back in session next week and can adopt the amendments by a majority vote, override the amendments by a two-thirds majority, or allow the amended legislation to fail, according to ACA.
The bill reduces the statute of limitations to three years from five, starting from the due date applicable to the final invoice for a healthcare service. There is one exception — if the contract with a hospital or healthcare provider is for a payment plan that allows for a longer period of time for the collection of debt by the hospital or healthcare provider.
Gov. Youngkin previously vetoed a similar version of this bill back in 2022 because there was some confusion that the bill could have been read as applying to other forms of debt rather than medical debt.
